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Deputy also is a musical performer best known for one-man looping shows, and he will do just that Friday, Oct. 19, in the Crystal Bay Casino Crown Room. North Shore's Peter Joseph Burtt and King Tide opens.

Before teeing off last week on the first hole at a disc golf course in Mississippi, Deputy took a phone call from Lake Tahoe Action. When he comes to Tahoe for the third time Deputy disclosed he will not be completely healthy.

"I have tennis elbow so I had to change my game around and I've lost 100 feet or so on my distance," he said. "I have to take care of my arm and I refuse to stop playing disc golf. I can still whip it a good 350-375 feet."

But what about your condition for Crystal Bay, Zach?

"It doesn't hurt when I play guitar," he said. "It's a different motion."

Deputy is serious enough about the sport to have a sponsorship from Innova, a major disc golf manufacturer. He is one of Innova's seven celebrity ambassadors. Others include Eric Friedman, the rhythm guitarist for Creed, Joey Chicago from the band Egypt Central, Ryan Belcher and Brandon Wootten of Framing Hanley, pro surfer Billy Rossini and international supermodel Holly Finale Finley. (Yes, supermodels play disc golf. Don't act so surprised.)

"We have a celebrity ambassador team of talented musicians and (high-profile) people who love disc golf and we brought those factors together," said Innova spokesman Sam Ferrans.

Deputy on stage sometimes touts the fun of disc golf to his audience and he fielded a couple of questions from Action about his music, including what to expect at his show.

"This will be loop extravaganza," he said. "There are so many different ways it can happen. I can loop my guitar first, go into drums or loop a vocal riff first or straight into beat boxing and loop it or just go acoustic. It's very free formed. Every show can be extremely different from another. I try to have little consistency when it comes to my show. I never want to get bored with myself."

Deputy said his first loop performance happened when his drummer and bass player could not make a show. He used a delay pedal to create a rhythm section.

"A bunch of people really liked it and I thought it was god awful," he said. "I said to myself, 'Man, if people like it this much, imagine if it was good?' That's what sparked my whole career."

Deputy's latest album, "Another Day," Eusonia Records, 2001, is a departure from his previous records. It a singer-songwriter effort and has been compared to stylings of Jack Johnson and Amos Lee. He is influenced by Latin, Caribbean and African music. Deputy for the last year also tours with a band. He said his songs are about the "plethora of life."

"I like to write about the highs of life," he said. "The good parts and the things in life I don't want to forget. I'm not much for taking pictures but I like to take songs and take pictures of the things that I want to remind myself of 10 years from now."

Deputy said he will play some disc golf in Tahoe, which has become a hotbed for the sport. Three of the first four courses built here have Innova DisCatchers: Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe, Zephyr Cove and Kirkwood. Other courses are Truckee, Squaw Valley, Tahoe Vista and Turtle Rock Park near Markleeville.

We failed to ask Deputy about his looping gear but did inquire about his favorite piece of plastic.

"I might use the Boss more than anything at the end of the day, but I think I like the Wraith better in my heart," he said.